Police Station In Fairfax Co., Va Attacked

[Matt King]

Does anyone know a motive yet?

 

[Jamie C.]

Does anyone know a motive yet?

That's the fun part about being crazy.... ya don't really need a motive for anything ya do...


J.C.

 

[DevLcL]

Perhaps someone with law enforcement experience can explain one puzzling observation on this tragedy; as I returned home last evening to watch the news coverage of this event I saw a growing number of Fairfax officers brandishing shotguns outside the hospital. Thinking back on other police shootings I have seen covered, the same thing is observed... LEOs outside the hospital of victims bearing arms (shotguns/semi-automatic rifles) publicly. Shouldn't these officers be at the scene of the shooting? Why at the hospital?

I work in a hospital. Any time a trauma comes in as a result of violence the Sheriff's office is called. They show up and stand at the entrances. Sometimes with shotguns but most of the time they just stand there (with pistol in holster of course). In this case it seems as if the detective was a target, in which case she would still be considered a target while in the hospital. If someone was crazy enough to start a gunfight at a police station why not at a hospital?

the 18-year-old gunman fired at least 70 rounds of ammunition from multiple high-powered weapons before he was killed.

When I think of "high-power" I'm thinking at least .50 BMG (but more like 20mm)

How does an 18 y/o nutjob get his hands on that kind of firepower? He certainly didn't acquire them legally.

Why do you say that? I'm 19, I own four handguns and at least one "assault rifle". All legit.


-Dev

 

[Foxtrot427]

My uncle knew vicki very well. I met her once. What a shame. That kid is dead as he should be. RIP vicki.

 

[Mr. James]

WTH, over?? "Registered gun owner"??

Well, color me flummoxed. I am a Virginia gun owner, and other than the 4473/state police forms I filled out at the time of purchase, I don't recall being asked to register a damned thing. I certainly have never "registered" any "pre-owned" firearms:


http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20060511-123753-7836r.htm

The heavily armed Centreville teenager who ambushed Fairfax County police officers Monday used weapons registered to his father, who was in legal possession of several types of guns and rifles, law-enforcement sources said yesterday.

But then

The weapons were scattered throughout the house, including under a mattress in the master bedroom and on the floor of a hallway, the warrant shows. It could not be determined who owned those guns or who placed them throughout the house.

And then

[P]olice spokeswoman Mary Ann Jennings said Kennedy's father, Brian H. Kennedy, 49, "is a registered gun owner."

Can anyone 'splain these statements? Is she possibly referring to a CHL?

 

[K-Romulus]

Surprise, surprise (not)

Anyone here surprised at this?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/11/AR2006051101703_pf.html

A Gunman's Arms Cache
Assault weapons are a menace.

Friday, May 12, 2006; A20

THE FACT THAT Michael W. Kennedy's home was practically a weapons depot deepens the mystery surrounding his attack on a Fairfax County police station Monday. Mr. Kennedy, the Centreville teenager who died in an exchange of gunfire with police after fatally shooting Detective Vicky O. Armel, was armed with an assault weapon, a hunting rifle and five handguns at the time of his death. An even larger weapons cache was discovered at the home of Mr. Kennedy and his parents. Police seized nine firearms that were scattered around the house, including at least two that were loaded. And that was without knowing the contents of a locked gun safe in the household, which police, lacking a specific search warrant, did not open.

One question is whether Mr. Kennedy's parents were aware of his mental health problems -- he had received counseling from one facility earlier this year and escaped from another one last month -- and, if so, whether they tried to restrict his access to weapons. Nor is it clear to whom the weapons in the house or in Mr. Kennedy's possession belonged or how they were acquired. Unfortunately, his parents, Brian and Margaret Kennedy, have not made themselves available to police; so far they have only issued statements through their attorney. They are suspected of no criminal wrongdoing, but their cooperation might address some of the case's unanswered questions.

The police estimate that Mr. Kennedy fired an incredible 70 rounds or more during the course of his brief but deadly assault at the Sully District station. That number partly underscores the fact that he was wielding an AK-47-style assault rifle. High-powered, military-style weapons were banned until September 2004, when President Bush and Congress allowed the ban to expire, at least partly at the behest of the National Rifle Association. We don't know whether the AK-47-style weapon Mr. Kennedy used to such awful effect was marketed or obtained by him before, after or during the decade-long ban. But the availability of such a lethal weapon and Mr. Kennedy's use of it reinforce a point that police chiefs made in their attempt to have the ban extended two years ago: Assault rifles are unnecessary for hunting or sport, and no mentally disturbed or criminally inclined person should find them so easily.

Since the ban expired, at least 44 people have died after being shot with assault weapons, and more than 38 have been wounded, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. A number of big-city police departments have reported that assault weapons are used increasingly in violent crimes. Monday's tragic events underscore the menace they represent.

Even though there has been ZERO info released on which rounds "caused" Det. Armel's death, it is assumed here that it was the 7.62x39 (even though the first guy to get shot is still alive, though seriously hurt) even though Kennedy had five different handguns plus a "high powered hunting rifle"(whatever that may turn out to be).


As for the "registered" stuff, I see this often in the news, and I think it is due to laziness on either the reporter's or the police spokesperson's part.

Instead of taking the time to explain that the paperwork on all suspect firearms is in order and what that means (FFL process, NCIS, etc.), it is easier to just blurt out "they were registered."

Many people criticize the FFL system for being a defacto gun registry, I guess because it IS a registry, in a way . . .

Meanwhile,

 

[garyk/nm]

Why do you say that? I'm 19, I own four handguns and at least one "assault rifle". All legit.


-Dev

Age, criminal history and mental health history. Not age alone. Sorry.

 

[XLMiguel]

Class III stuff aside, to the best of my knowledge, there's no such thing as a "registered" gun or gun owner in Virginia.

Chalk it up to media illiteracy and sensationaizing (i.e. everything is either "high-powered" or "automatic"). Ca ca del toro by any other name. And they wonder why they have a credibility issue